I've been a big fan of Thrity Umrigar's novels since I read The World We Found in 2012. (My review is here.) Her last novel, Honor, was powerful and heartbreaking, and her latest novel, The Museum of Failures, continues her streak of writing stories that touch our humanity.

Remy is an Indian man who has traveled from his current home in Columbus, Ohio back to his hometown of Bombay (now called Mumbai). He has a successful career in advertising and a loving wife Kathy, a pediatric specialist. The one thing missing is a child.

After trying unsuccessfully to have a baby of their own, Remy's childhood friend tells him that he knows a young Indian college student who is pregnant and wants to give up her baby to Remy and Kathy to adopt. So Remy travels back home to meet the young woman.

While home, Remy discovers that his mother Shirin is not home as he thought, but rather she is in the hospital and very ill. Remy has always had a complicated relationship with his mother, he always found her to be harsh and uncaring towards him. He hasn't seen her since his father passed away three years ago.

He adored his late father Cyrus and while home, he keeps meeting people who share stories of his father's kindness and generosity. Remy misses his father deeply, a man who always treated him as if he were a prince.

Remy resolves to bring his mother out of her illness and back home where she belongs. Seeing her so ill and alone saddens him.

As Remy attempts to straighten out his mother's financial and health situation and move forward with adopting an Indian baby, he discovers a huge secret that his parents kept from him, one that will change everything he grew up believing.

Remy has always thought of India as "a museum of failures, an exhibit hall filled with thwarted dreams and broken promises." His return home has brought up complications and feelings he did not anticipate.

Once again, Thrity Umrigar has written a magnificent story, bringing the reader into the lives of Remy and his family. Once back home, Remy is torn between his the life he loves in Ohio and the world he grew up in in Mumbai, his future and his past. I give it my highest recommendation.

Thanks to Algonquin for putting me on Thrity Umrigar's tour. ( )

Remy Wadia left India for the United States long ago, carrying with him his resentment of his mother with him. He has now returned to adopt a baby from a young pregnant girl-and to see his elderly. Mother for the first time in three years. Discovering that his mother is in the hospital, has stopped talking, and seems to have given up on life, he is struck with guilt for not realizing just how sick she has become.
His unexpected appearance and assiduous attention revives her and enables her to return home. But when are my stumbles upon a photo, shocking long-held family secrets surface. As the secrets unravel and Remy’s mother begins communicating again, he finds himself reevaluating his entire childhood, his relationship to his parents, and his harsh judgment of the decisions and events long hidden from him, just as he is on the cusp of becoming a parent himself. But most of all, he must learn to forgive others for their failures and human frailties. ( )

Thirty continues to write excellent books about India, Indian families, immigrants where things do not seem as they are. Reading the book you are aware that things don’t seem as clear cut and simple but guessing what it may be is difficult to imagine. All the main characters seem like real people with good and bad intentions. Good book. ( )

More than failures, The Museum of Failures by Thrity Umrigar is all about secrets – family secrets and the resulting trauma that children carry into adulthood and their own journey into parenthood. The book packages this family's entire history from before Remy's birth until his now-middle-age into a neat and tidy ending. This, to me, lessons the impact of this story. Nevertheless, an emotional family story and a depiction of the immigrant experience that will stay with me.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2024/01/the-museum-of-failures.html

Reviewed for NetGalley and a publisher’s blog tour. ( )

The Museum of Failures provokes the reader to examine relationships among family and friends and to investigate past ideas. The main character, Remy Wadia returns to India to adopt a baby, but finds that his mother needs his assistance. The quick trip to India from Ohio accelerates into a lengthy journey that uncovers a terrible secret in Remy’s family. Along this path of discovery, Remy learns his mother’s strength and love. So many lost and hidden memories for Remy, his father’s “golden boy”. This raises the question, do we live for our parents or our own hopes? So many people enter Remy’s path to discovery: Jango, Monaz, and Dina. Each character prompts Remy on his road of redemption with his father Cyrus and his mother Shirin. For someone not knowledgeable in Indian cuisine and language, a guide would have been desirable. ( )